Crimes on public buses on the rise<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police have said that their intensified patrols and
\nmonitoring of rising street crime might have moved the crime hot
\nspots to beyond the patrol's coverage, including on board public
\ntransportation.<\/p>\n
Data compiled by the police's operational and control division
\nshows that the number of crimes committed on public
\ntransportation is on the rise. During January and February alone
\nthere were 18 mugging cases targeting passengers of buses, taxis
\nand minivans.<\/p>\n
Earlier, city police detective chief Sr. Comr. Andi Chaeruddin
\nsaid that street crimes were the second most common crime in the
\ncity after drug-related crimes.<\/p>\n
Given the circumstances, according to city police spokesman
\nSr. Comr. Prasetyo, the force is now designing a mechanism which
\ncan effectively be used by the victims or the drivers of public
\ntransportation to alert the patrolling police.<\/p>\n
\"What prevents the police from assisting victims who are
\nrobbed on board buses, despite the emergency service we provide,
\nis that we always get the information too late. Moreover, not all
\nvictims are willing to make a report,\" Prasetyo told The Jakarta
\nPost on Friday.<\/p>\n
As a solution, he said, the police are now placing
\nplainclothes intelligence officers or detectives on public
\ntransportation vehicles along crime-prone routes.<\/p>\n
Recently, the police have augmented their fleet of patrol cars
\nwith 304 of the new Kia Carens patrol cars plus 60 sedans and
\nKijang minivans. Of those vehicles, 222 are equipped with a two-
\nway communication system, while 100 of them utilize a Global
\nPositioning System (GPS) device which enables the police
\ncomputers to monitor the movements of each of the patrol cars.<\/p>\n
According to Syahri Ramadan, a GPS technician who works for
\nthe city police, the planned installation of the device in all
\nthe patrol cars, numbering 500, would be completed in the next
\ntwo months. The installation has been done in stages since July
\n2002 because the system is still under trial.<\/p>\n
The police have also installed surveillance cameras in several
\ncritical sites, including the compound of the House of
\nRepresentatives\/People's Consultative Assembly in Senayan,
\nCentral Jakarta, and the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, which
\nare popular sites for demonstrations.<\/p>\n
The patrol is part of the police's 911 emergency assistance
\nwhich residents can access through toll-free number 112,
\nestablished to compensate for the shortage of policemen in the
\ncity. Currently, the ratio between police personnel and residents
\nis 1:800, a far cry from the ideal ratio of 1:400.<\/p>\n
All police on patrol are obliged to report the situation in
\nthe area they cover from time to time and their reports are aired
\nby private radio station FM 91.1 KHz Suara Metro.<\/p>\n
Not only that, residents are also allowed to send information
\nor complaints to the city police chief via SMS to number
\n0811822777 which is held by the personal assistant of the city
\npolice chief.<\/p>\n
Prasetyo said that the services would not be effective unless
\nthe public used them effectively.<\/p>\n
\"I suggest that the drivers of the public transportation
\nvehicles give signs, for example dim their lights, to indicate
\nthat a robbery is taking place on board, or drive toward the
\nnearest police station,\" he added.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/crimes-on-public-buses-on-the-rise-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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